So why did I get rid of it? (FLASHBACK!) Well in January, I was cruising the online classifieds when I stumbled upon a 92 Laser AWD that was not running, but had a full exhaust, sportlines, kyb agxs, adjustable control arms, and some misc other things. I called my buddy Nat to go check it out for me and he called me back excited to let me know how clean the car was. The only things wrong were the front bumper needed to be repainted and the rear bumper had black exhaust stains on it. Interior was immaculate, head liner didn’t even sag. A few nights later, I had a CLEAN 120k mile old 92 6/4 AWD for $600. Uh oh, I was already becoming a DSMer…the multiple DSM bug had bit me hard. White with a porno red interior, Lily would be her name (named after Lily Thai…if you don’t know...get to knowing it, you’ll thank me later).

The car ended up having 2 cracked valves, but no other damage to the head or the block. Pulled the head, sent it off to FFTEC to get the valves replaced. With the help of my friend Mahesh, we got the head back on with fresh gaskets, the motor timed, and up and running. Boy was I excited. For a total of about $1100, I had a low mileage, clean AWD laser. And I tossed my 16x7 Enkei RS-Evolutions on it.

(Checkpoint: April 2006)

To be continued...

 

So you went back in time?

(Checkpoint: July 2006)

Then...

(Checkpoint: April 2006)

lol

 

The second check point was supposed to be January 2006, not July 2006. So when does the car turn into the 550whp machine it is today?

 

Sorry, that part is kind of confusing. I wanted to finish the story of my Talon which was sold in July of 2006.

Then I went back in time a bit yes to the second car, which I got running around April 2006.

Be patient Josh, there's plenty to come. I have to draw an audience first before I get to the good stuff..haha

 

*Pops the popcorn and grabs a seat*

 

Fixed the timeline for you.

 

I guess my explanation was still too confusing? It's a flashback.

I wanted to seperate the stories between the cars. The timeline is like that because I had both cars at the same time. So I had the talon, but got the laser running before the talon was sold. Thats why it seems as if I'm going back in time, because I also have a time machine..haha

 

I guess my explanation was still too confusing? It's a flashback.

I wanted to seperate the stories between the cars. The timeline is like that because I had both cars at the same time. So I had the talon, but got the laser running before the talon was sold. Thats why it seems as if I'm going back in time, because I also have a time machine..haha

Did I get the correction right? If not, let me know if you need some edits. Good start to your thread!

 

Can you put it back the way it was originally. It did not need corrections, lol. Let the checkpoint in the first post be July 2006 like it originally was.

Now if you could edit the beginning of the second post. I think we can clear up the confusion. Right after the "So why did I get rid of it?", please add: *FLASHBACK *

That should hopefully clear things up for people. If not, then I just fail at communicating..haha

 

Found another pic of when I first got the car and the damage that was done to the head.

Everyone has to have a tow truck pic:

Cracked Valves

Moving along, here are a couple pics of Lily in July 2006 at a local DSM meet. I resprayed my bumper the night before with a couple rattle cans and some clear. Didn't turn out too bad. I was pretty content, considering the amount of money I spent on the car and how clean it was. Original paint too!

I made a couple more trips to FFTEC, and after riding in Sean’s 1g (http://fftec.com/CC4.html), making 430awhp at the time, and after getting sucked into my seat harder than I had ever felt before, I wanted to go fast (or at least what I thought was fast back then).

After a bit of research and the reviews by Jake Montgomery on the FP30 series turbos, I decided on a FP3052. I wanted a turbo that was capable of 10's as well as still fairly responsive on the street. I loved the fact that this setup was all straight bolt on with v-band connections. So I worked my butt off all summer, which is the only time I can since am a full time college student at Cal Poly. Two jobs and countless hours later, I had what I needed. :happy:

The night before I was going to do my first clutch job to prepare the car for the new turbo, I smoked the clutch pretty bad. The next day I headed to a friend's house and with the help of my trust friend Mahesh and my current roomate Brian (tstkl), put the ACT2900 & Fidanza flywheel in. I was on my way.


The car ended up with this quick list of mods:

- FP3052 Setup

- 2g Exhaust Manifold

- FP2 Cams

- FFTEC Modified 2g SSAC FMIC

- GM Maft

- DSMLink

- PTE 950cc

- Walbro 255hp

- ACT2900 & Fidanza


Installed Pics

I had Sean @ FFTEC tune the car for me, as I was not at the point where I knew enough about tuning to try to tackle it myself. He helped me through the little bugs on the car and after a few hours, I made 303awhp, 256ft-lb on their Mustang Dyno @ 22psi. I was a bit disappointed in the numbers at first, until I took it for a spin. Wow, what a difference it is going from a stock 14b car to a 3052! Needless to say I did not complain. Right after the car was tuned I took it on a 3 hour drive down to get started back with school again. Here's to another year at school! The car ran flawlessly and I got 27mpg! Too bad I got smoked by a modded FD RX-7 10 minutes after I got on the road, talk about a ball buster. :wall: But at 20 years old, with a 300awhp car, I was happy. :banana:

It's starting to get a little more interesting now. The car isn't STOCK!
(Checkpoint: Sept 2006)

To be continued...

 

Very nice story. Looking forward to more!

 

Mahesh hooked me up with a few pictures of the laser. I haven't seen these in years.

So that's what a dsm noob looks like...lol

 

Ooops, those pics are of the talon from the first post

 

So...who's ready for another installment?

After fall finals, my roommate I decided to go on a drive to relax and release the stress of studying. I guess I got a little excited. Took the car out on the backroads, came up on an downhill, off camber left hand turn. It was a nice sunny day, but this turn was on the back side of the mountain, and there was still moisture on the road. Moments later, I was part way into the side of the mountain. :wall: :wall: The car understeered and I could not get her out of the turn safely. I had been driving back roads for years, but all it took was misjudging one turn. She ended up with a bent radiator support, fender was a smashed, sideskirt messed up, and the front hub sheared off. I got to enjoy this car for a whole three months...

I will have to try to find pics, I think they’re on a diff computer

(Checkpoint: Dec 2006)

 

Don't worry don't worry..I have more.

Around February, I was ready to start looking for another chassis to toss it in. The Laser really wasn’t TOO bad. I could have just pulled the core support back, fixed the suspension, and put a new fender on her. But I just didn’t feel like it I guess. My buddy Ray (Extreme AutoWorks) had 91 AWD shell for me. I wanted do this one right, I was going to strip the whole car, get it caged, painted, the drop my setup in it. So I called up Sean and asked for pics of his cage, it was so clean and I wanted mine to look just like it. He offered to sell me the car, but at 21 years old with no job, I was in no position to buy a full built car. Well lucky me, a little while later he offered to sell me the chassis. Wow, a clean 90, with a 92 Talon front, CF hood, 8pt chromoly roll bar w/swingouts, and other little stuff, I had to have it. Sean being the nice guy he was, let it go for $1k. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world. A little more convincing and I ended up with quite a bit more than I expected to buy in the first place and a bigger hole in my pocket.

I tore everything off the Laser and got set to transfer it all over to my Eclipse, I named her Nyomi (after Nyomi Marcela, again if you don’t know, get to knowing). Here’s what I got with the car:
- FFTEC 6 bolt Eagle/Wiseco http://www.fftec.com/product.php?productid=16679&cat=0&page=1
- Ported Head with +1mm valves
- Crower Springs & Retainers
- HKS 280 Cams
- 3.5” Exhaust
- Ground Control/Koni Yellows
- Toyo RA1
- Flat bottom trunk floor!
- Half sized gas tank

I spend the next week at Full Function getting everything together. With the help of Sean and the guys over at Full Function, I was able to get the car up and running. Thanks to Sean for letting me use the shop. My 3052 setup mated up to the built motor made a much more satisfying 350awhp/290ft-lb at the same 22psi and 91 octane. As you can see, power was still dropping off in the higher rpms. The HKS 280 cams definitely made a difference in where peak power was.

The blue lines are from the Laser (Lily) and the Red from the Eclipse (Nyomi)

Tossed in a F1Spec Seat and a Takata harness as well. Just to spite the DSMers that hate JDM =]

(Checkpoint: April 2007)

 

Loving the story.. Sucks about the accident.

 

Loving the story.. Sucks about the accident.

Thanks man. I'm going to keep posting, so make sure to check back. It's gonna get a lot cooler soon.

I'm still sad I crashed the Laser, it's still sitting on my driveway, everything is out of it minus the exterior panels, I just stare at it sometimes..HAHA. But if that would have never happened, I wouldn't have the awesome chassis I have today.

 

But if that would have never happened, I wouldn't have the awesome chassis I have today.

Great way of looking at the bright side!

 

Also, by buying Sean's car, I developed a relationship with Full Function that has allowed me to learn more than I could have sitting online all day...haha. Having a fabricator and a skilled AEM tuner isn't too shabby either.

This is why i always tell people to buy from your local shop. Yeah, it may be a few bucks more than getting it from some online vendor, but you help the shop out as well as develop relationship that will help both parties.

 

sean is a cool guy

 

Edwin told me to add something positive, so heres my attempt at that:


The black car is named felix....

 

You have one of my favorite 1g's unlmtdndeavor. :tree:

 

Several months later I wanted to get the car tuned on race gas and to the track. We decided on running ERC A8C (118oct), a well known brand that was made locally. At this point I was learning a bit more about tuning, after sitting shotgun on many tuning session with Sean in various different cars. We got the car strapped onto the dyno, and we began my first tuning session on dsmlink. It’s pretty exciting to drive a car on the dyno, it’s definitely an experience. With Sean there to answer my questions and give me pointers, I got the car to 401awhp, 354ft-lb torque. This was at 28psi on the stock intake manifold and tb, 2.5” o2 housing.

DYNO SHEET

I also redid my suspension a bit at this time. I wanted to fit 17x9 on the car, so I needed to modify the front and rear suspension. And I got those 17x9 to fit beautifully imo.

Here’s the front spring perch removed and the rear trailing arm ground down.

Here was the test fit on the car, using my friend's set of wheels. Better photos to come of the setup later.

Checkpoint: August 2008

 

Shes sitting nice.

Looks good, keep the updates coming!

 

You are one cool looking dude. Nice build bro, hope there's more to come....